Over the last year, there has been international record growth in fixed-route transit, according to a comprehensive collection of rapid transit data maintained by the ITDP Global staff. ITDP looked at bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail transit (LRT), and Metro built in 2016 in 373 urban areas around the world. Data is collected either directly from government sources or publicly available news sources.

In 2016, 37 cities added 754.5 km of metro rail, and 9 cities added 163.2 km of bus rapid transit, and 7 cities added 72.1 km of light rail. While Metro is by far the most prevalent form of rapid transit construction, these numbers are largely due to the rapid transit growth of China. Incredibly, of the 754.5 km of built in 2016, 533 was in mainland China.

Hefei Metro | Source: metroreport.com

Hefei Metro | Source: img.gmw.cn

Changsha Metro | Source: n.sinaimg.cn

More than twice as much BRT was built in 2016 compared to LRT, continuing the the trend of BRT growth outpacing the increasingly less-popular option of LRT. 2016 marked the fifth straight year where more BRT opened than LRT. Using this data on all rapid transit openings since 1980, we can see where each mode stacks up in terms of grand total of kilometers. While there is more km of LRT, BRT is rapidly catching up. At this rate of construction, the total length of operational BRT should catch up to LRT by 2030.

In the past decade, Metro construction has skyrocketed, increasing by 50% or 5,000 km, the same amount that was built in the preceding 20 years. We can also aggregate the data into buckets of four years to get a sense of more macro trends in rapid transit construction over the past 35 years. LRT was clearly relatively popular in the 1980s, before dropping off in the 1990s. Metro construction stayed relatively consistent through around 2005, before increasing dramatically in the next decade. And finally, it is clear that BRT was a marginal mode until around the beginning of the new millennium, but has since become an increasingly popular choice for cities around the world.

Transcaribe BRT in Cartagena, Colombia | Source: eltiempo.com

One fascinating application that this dataset allows us to explore is the comparison of rapid transit built in different countries. Instead of simply comparing kilometers built, which ignores key contextual factors, we have normalized this data by population to create the Rapid Transit to Resident Ratio (RTR), which compares the length of rapid transit lines (including rail, metro, and BRT) in kilometers in each country with its urban population (cities with populations over 500,000). In China, for example, we can see that the RTR has quickly risen over the past decade, thanks mostly to a boom in Metro and BRT openings.

Another country worth highlighting is Brazil, which for most of the past two decades was stagnant or declining in terms of its RTR. However, in the past five years the nation has seen a notable improvement, driven mostly by a spate of BRT construction. Since 2012, 171.6 km of BRT have opened in Brazil. This period of transit expansion coincides, of course, with the preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and indeed 70 percent of BRT built in Brazil during this period was built in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. However, over this same time frame, Brasilia and Belo Horizonte both opened their first BRT corridors, indicating a nationwide trend towards BRT construction in Brazilian cities.

It appears that cities and countries are responding to both continued global growth in urban population, and more importantly over the past 10 years, a jump in global wealth, (2002-2011) which has allowed cities to invest more in infrastructure. A lot of the projects that stemmed from that boom time (especially metros, which often take up to a decade to complete) are now opening.

As the global economy has slowed down, but city populations continue to grow, the world has increasingly turned to BRT as a means of improving access in cities, without breaking the bank. With much less lead time, the planning of many BRT projects that have opened more recently began after the global boom period (2011-2016). As more cities demonstrate the potential of high quality BRT, some are choosing BRT over metro, and fewer cities are choosing LRT, which is often significantly more expensive and is less able to achieve higher capacities.

With our current global instability, we expect slower economic growth, and thus fewer expensive metro projects opening in the coming years. Yet, demand for more transit will continue, and as more cities demonstrate the capacity potential and relatively low cost of high quality BRT, we expect to see more of these projects.

The Sustainable Transport Award Committee gave its tenth annual award to Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, the first ever award to result in a three-way tie, giving credit to the scale and substance of Brazil’s achievements in increasing mobility and enhancing quality of life in its major cities.

In 2014, Belo Horizonte implemented the first projects of their comprehensive Mobility Plan: a new, gold-standard bus rapid transit system, MOVE BRT, began operation on two corridors covering 23 km. The city also revitalized its downtown, creating pedestrian-only streets, and implementing 27 km of their planned bikeway network.

Rio de Janeiro has massively invested in public transportation over the past few years. In 2014, the city opened the second of four BRT systems planned ahead of the 2016 Olympics, Transcarioca. The 39 km corridor draws 270,000 daily users, keeping the city on track to achieve the goals of its mobility plan by 2016.

São Paulo expanded its cycling network and implemented 320 km of exclusive bus lanes, increasing average bus speeds by 21 percent. The city is on track to have 400 km of cycle lanes implemented in 2015, part of an overall 500 km network. These are just the first steps in an ambitious master plan, which has made São Paulo the first megacity to eliminate parking minimums and replace them with parking maximums citywide.

10th Annual Award Gives First 3-way Tie to Three Brazilian Cities

The Sustainable Transport Award Committee gave its tenth annual award to Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, the first ever award to result in a three-way tie, giving credit to the scale and substance of Brazil’s achievements in increasing mobility and enhancing quality of life in its major cities.

The Sustainable Transport Awards were accepted by Mayor Marcio Lacerda of Belo Horizonte, Laudemar Aguiar, Head of International Relations for Rio de Janerio, and Ciro Biderman, Chief of Staff for SPTrans. The program featured a keynote address by Timothy Papandreou, Director of Strategic Planning and policy of SFMTA, who accepted the award on behalf of the City of San Francisco in 2012.

In 2014, Belo Horizonte implemented the first projects of their comprehensive Mobility Plan: a new, gold-standard bus rapid transit system, MOVE BRT, began operation on two corridors covering 23 km. The city also revitalized its downtown, creating pedestrian-only streets, and implementing 27 km of their planned bikeway network.

Mayor Lacerda thanked the committee for recognizing Belo Horizonte’s achievements. “We in Belo Horizonte are working every day to make life better. We understand that good transport is fundamental to improving life for everyone in our city. This award means so much to us because it indicates that we are getting better, and that the work is worth it.”

Rio de Janeiro has massively invested in public transportation over the past few years. In 2014, the city opened the second of four BRT systems planned ahead of the 2016 Olympics, Transcarioca. The new, 39 km corridor draws 270,000 daily users, keeping the city on track to achieve the goals of its mobility plan by 2016.

At the ceremony, Mr. Aguiar demonstrated the massive work the city has accomplished already, and how much more was planned. “Rio is transforming. By 2016, 60% of Cariocas will have access to mass transportation. In 2009, that number was only 18%. Every day we are building more BRT, more LRT, more metro, connecting the city, and making it better for everyone.”

São Paulo massively expanded its cycling network in 2014, and implemented 320 km of exclusive bus lanes, increasing average bus speeds by 21 percent. The city is on track to have 400 km of cycle lanes implemented in 2015, part of an overall 500 km network. These are just the first steps in an ambitious master plan, which has made São Paulo the first megacity to eliminate parking minimums and replace them with parking maximums citywide.

When accepting the award, Mr. Biderman commented that lack of money is not always what prevents this type of progress. “Too many cities say they don’t have enough money for transport projects, but it isn’t about the money. Building bike lanes doesn’t cost much. It’s about being willing to have the fight to get it done. It’s about political will.”

Established in 2005, the Sustainable Transport Award has been given annually to a city that has implemented innovative and sustainable transportation projects in the past year. These strategies must improve mobility for all residents, reduce transportation greenhouse and air pollution emissions, as well as improve safety and access for cyclists and pedestrians. Finalists are selected by an international committee of development experts and organizations working on sustainable transportation.

The Sustainable Transport Award finalists and winner are chosen by a Committee that includes the most respected experts and organizations working internationally on sustainable transportation. The 2015 Committee represents:

Institute for Transportation and Development Policy

EMBARQ, The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport

With the first match of the World Cup just weeks away, Brazilian cities are putting the final pieces of their transportation plans into motion. Belo Hortizonte, which opened its first BRT, MOVE, in early March, last week debuted its second corridor, MOVE Antônio Carlos. The new corridor will provide critical transit for the city during the World Cup and long after. The route connects Belo Horizonte’s city center with the Pampulha region, providing connections to several hospitals, the Federal University of Minas Gerais, and the newly modernized Mineirão football stadium.

MOVE Antônio Carlos is a high-quality BRT corridor. It runs along a central, dedicated lane, features bike lanes for much of the way, and has strong pedestrian safety measures (e.g. ample crosswalks). The system is well integrated with other transit in Belo Horizonte, with a shared BHBUS card and integrated stations where feeder buses can bring riders to the BRT corridor.

ITDP has brought its international expertise to support Belo Horizonte’s BRT throughout the process, including sharing best practice designs, advising on corridor design, advocating for the system, evaluating plans and providing guidance for high-quality design.

“We will continue to help the city improve the project and make adjustments as needed”, says Clarisse Linke, Director of ITDP Brazil. “Through good design and system management, the new corridor will bring many benefits to the riders and city residents, including time savings, reducing congestion and emissions, and promoting mixed use development downtown for a more livable city”.

During the launch, official ‘Can I Help?’ crews stood at stations, answering questions for first time BRT users and confused travelers. In the lead up to the new corridor, there were many meetings with local communities and pamphlets were distributed with details on the lines, terminals, and logistics of the system.

The corridor is already moving 40,000 people daily. Three different lines run along the BRT corridor. Line 50 runs directly between the two terminals, offering the greatest time savings- during peak travel times, buses leave every 4 minutes, minimizing wait times. Lines 51 and 52 will stop at all stations along the corridor, offering convenient access to all points throughout the route. Seven feeder routes will extend the reach of the system, bringing users on traditional buses to transfer stations, where they can access the benefits of BRT with ease. Overall, the BRT is expected to reduce travel times by an average of 40% for users.

When the wave of World Cup visitors hits Belo Horizonte in several weeks, the BRT will play a key role in keeping the city moving. While the BRT will help allow the city to manage the swell in transit demand, its primary function will always be moving Belo Horizonte residents around their city.

MOVE Antônio Carlos is an exciting step forward for Belo Horizonte. By building a strong BRT network, the city is demonstrating its commitment to finding transport solutions that take cars off the road and expand city residents’ mobility.

This weekend, Belo Horizonte joins the growing number of cities in Brazil and around the world bringing the benefits of high-quality sustainable transit to its citizens. On March 8, the city opened the first of three planned corridors of MOVE, Belo Horizonte’s first BRT system. The new corridor runs along Avenida Cristiano Machado and follows best practices in BRT design, including center-aligned stations, off-board fare collection, and integrated intermodal connections. At the MOVE inauguration, city officials and citizens alike rode the BRT for the first time, representing a major step forward for Brazil’s third largest city. When the system reaches full operation, scheduled for May 17, it will have the capacity to carry 700,000 people per day.

The Avenida Cristiano Machado corridor is 6km, running between the São Gabriel Station in the northeast and city center. Along this corridor, there are three different routes running. One line provides direct service from end to end, cutting riders’ commute times significantly, while a second route makes local stops at eight additional stations. The final route runs along the corridor, then branches out to connect with Savassi Station, linking several hospitals and commercial districts to the corridor. These routes show how the corridor can serve diverse needs for the city.

Off board fare collection, level boarding, and safe, comfortable stations are are important aspects of good BRT station design, and are featured in Belo Horizonte’s new MOVE system.

MOVE will bring important benefits to BRT riders and to all Belo Horizonte residents. For riders, it will shorter travel times between the two main terminals by 50% and provide a safe comfortable trip across town. In addition, all Belo Horizonte citizens will enjoy reduced congestion and emissions. The corridor is also expected to help revitalize the city’s downtown and encourage mixed use development.

“The creation of the BRT has the potential to reinvigorate the most degraded areas, attracting investment and encouraging compact land use,” said Clarisse Linke, Director of ITDP Brazil. “It’s a pleasure to see the MOVE system come true. For years, ITDP has worked to identify the characteristics that make BRT systems succeed worldwide. Our intention is to help the city improve the project and make adjustments as needed.” ITDP has brought its international expertise to support Belo Horizonte’s BRT through sharing best practice designs, advising on corridor design, and evaluating plans for the multimodal São Gabriel Station.

MOVE is expected to score highly on the BRT Standard, indicating that, through good design and system management, the new corridors will bring many benefits to the riders and city residents, including time savings, reducing congestion and emissions, and promoting mixed use development downtown for a more livable city.

Plans for Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s bike path network received a boost last month when Jesús Sánchez (ITDP Mexico), visited to lead a CicloCiudades course. An extension of the CicloCiudades program in Mexico, the course aims to give city planners the tools to develop comprehensive plans for a bike friendly city. The workshop was a concrete step in Belo Horizonte’s continued efforts to improve its cycling infrastructure.

The Ciclocoudades course brought together twenty-five of the city’s local cycle activists, city planners, and planners from the governments in Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza. The diverse audience demonstrated Belo Horizonte’s commitment to involving civil society in the process as they develop more cycling plans. This partnership is strengthened by the city government’s weekly working group with cyclists to discuss plans and improvements.

At the Ciclociudades course, Jesús provided new tools and a fresh perspective to creating a cycling network, from emphasizing core concepts such as connectivity to asking participants to split into groups and map out their idea cycle network for the city. Still, Jesús emphasized that focusing too much on perfecting the planned network can detract attention and funding from the actual installation of the cycle lanes. His principal recommendation was for the city to pick a single design for bike lanes and implement it city-wide. The existing bike lanes in Belo Horizonte have been of inconsistent quality and design, with some bike lanes aligned on the right side of the road and others in the middle.

Beyond the course, Jesús and Victoria Broadus (ITDP Brazil) participated in several site visits with city planners and activists to discuss issues and improvements to the cycling network. With leaders of the municipal bike program, PedalaBH, and cycling organizations BH em Ciclo and Bike Anjo, Jesús and Victoria discussed plans for a new public bicycle system and biked the problematic downtown cycle tracks. Belo Horizonte has a goal of 380 kilometers of bike lanes by 2020, with 200 by 2016; there are currently 70 kilometers of cycle lanes and 12 kilometers under construction. To assist with these goals, ITDP is now preparing a formal report for BHTrans, the municipal transit authority, with analyses and suggestions for improving the city’s bikeability.

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